Tab construction for guide cards



Oct. 16, 1934.

C. W. STRAUBEL TAB CONSTRUCTION FOR GUIDE CARDS Filed May 18 1934 Patented Oct. 16, 1934' prro stares rarest This invention relates to an index tab construction for guide cards of the type used in dividing the filing space of cabinet drawers.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide 6 a simple and inexpensive holder having a portion adapted to project above the top edge of the card and provided with front and rear openings r spectively for receiving a resilient angular guard for supporting an indicia bearing member and providing convenient means for removing said member when desired. In that connection, it is proposed to provide a front opening closed at all sides which necessitates the resilient guard being sprung into place to effect assembly, and which becomesinterlocked with the opening in such, a way that it can not be dislodged otherwise than by compressing the guard to effect its disengagement from the opening. This arrangement has the advantage that the card may be replaced when desired, but on the other hand can not be accidentally displaced. v

A further object of the invention is to provide an indicia bearing member so formed as to facilis tate insertion and removal, thereby making it possible to readily change'the identification designated by theindex. In that connection, the insertion may beeffected from one end of the resilient guard while its removal may be effected by placing a finger in the rear opening of the holder to engage the rear of the indicia member and feed it longitudinally out of the guard.

With the above and other objects in view which will more readilyappear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novelfeatures of construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing,and defined in the appended claims.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a front elevation of the improved index tab construction completely assembled.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1. Y

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the holder with the resilient guard detached.

Figure e is a perspective view of the resilient guard, indicia-shield or window.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the indicia bearing member.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of resilient guard.

Similar reference characters designate correspending parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, the card or division member is designated as A while the tab construction is designated in its entircty as B. The latter preferably includes .in its organization a holder C consisting. of a mum, ber ofv sheet material foldedupon itself to provide opposite wings 1-1 adapted to engage the front and rear faces of the card A and tube secured thereto by suitable fastenings a. The upper part of the holder between the fold and the top edge of the card provides the spaced front and rear walls 3 and 4 respectively. The front wall 3 is provided with an opening 5 closed at all sides and provided at each end with the inwardly directed tongue portions 6 whicl'rare so formed as to provide the recesses? at each corner of theopening. These vtongues and re cesses are intended to assist in holding or keep 1 ing the resilient guard G in place, although the top and bottom edges of the front opening, constitutethe primary keeper means for the. guard.

As .will be observed from Figures 1, 2 and .4, the said guard G is of angular cross-section and is made of resilient material so that the angularly related wings S-8 thereof may be manually' compressed to permit of theflanges 9 being brought together to clear the opposite sides vof the opening 5 and permit of the said flanges being interlocked behind, the keeper edges of. he front opening when manual pressure on the guard is released.

.The rear wall 4 of the holder is provided wi h the-access opening 10 as clearly shown in Fig ures 2 and 3 to permitof access to the rear of the holder for the purposeof facilitating manipulation of the indicia bearing member E when it is desired to remove the same from the holder..

Referring to Figure 5, it will be observed that the said indicia member E preferably consists of a stripof material intended to bear suitable indicia or indexing matter and folded longitudinal-v iv to provide the upper and lower wings 11 and 12, thereby to conform to the-angular shape of the guard G wh n inserted within the guard. To facilitate insertion of the member E behind the transparent guardG- the corners of the lead ing end of the said member are 'cut-awayorbev elled as at 13. That is to say by truncating the corners of the indicia bearing member, it will be possible for the same to readily slide over the vertical edge of the opening 10. Also, the

bevelled corners 13 permit the indicia bearing member E to ride over the corners of the tongues 6 and into the recesses '7 to bring the member E to its pro er location behind the guard G. When the indicia bearing member E is thus positioned, the ends of the recesses 7 serve as a final stop abutment for the body of the member E. The upper and lower wings 11 and 12, may both bear suitable indicia, if desired, so that the indicia member may be inverted or reversed, and, in that connection, it will of course, be understood that it is entirely within the scope of the invention to truncate the corners of both ends of the member E to facilitate insertion thereof within the guard in the event that it is intended to make the member E reversible.

Figure 6 illustrates a resilient metal guard G having the same mechanical features and shape as the transparent guard except that one wing thereof is provided with a window opening G to expose the indicia bearing member when inserted therein.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present construction provides a holder which offers no substantial projection beyond. either face of the guard. In other words, the holder is substantially flush with the card body A while the keeper means for the resflient G lies entirely within the planes of the opposite walls of the holder. Thus, the resilient guard G, only, projects beyond the surface of the card, and because of the oblique angle of the outer faces of the wings 8-8, little or no resistance is offered to filing material in front of the guide even when the drawer is compactly filled or loaded. The resilient guard may be made of any suitable resilient material such as celluloid or metal.

In the event that celluloid is used, it is of course, unnecessary to provide a window as it is in the case of the metal guard shown in ure 6. In any case, however, it is essential that the guard be resilient so that the flanges at the edge thereof may engage with the keeper edges of the opening 5 5 by compr ssing the guard longitudinally and snapping it into the front opening of the holder. When the guard is thus interlocked with the holder, it will be apparent that it can not be removed except by squeezing the sides together until the flanges clear the keeper edges of the opening. The angular disposition of the wings of the guard make it possible for the indicia to be easily viewed from the proper angle in filing material in front of the card. "fhe indicia bearing member E may be of paper, cardboard or other suitable material having suflicient resiliency or springiness to enable it to conform to the shape of the guard when placed therein.

As previously indicated, indicia member E is inserted behind the guard by sliding the same therein from the end of the guard, and when completely in position, it is entirely shielded or covered by the guard. When it is desired to remove the member E, it is only necessary to insert a finger or other means in the rear opening 10 and push the card from behind the guard by sliding it from beneath the guard or casing.

Without further description, it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will of course be understood, that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An index tab construction including a holder comprising a member of sheet material folded upon itself to provide front and rear walls, said walls being respectively provided with front and rear openings, a resilient guard of angular crosssection having means at the sides thereof for interfitting with opposite edges of said front opening and providing wings inclined obliquely toward the holder, and an indicia bearing member of angular cross-section within said guard and hav ng its rear side exposed for engagement through said rear opening of the holder.

2. An index tab construction including a holder comprising a body of sheet material folded upon itself to provide attaching members and spaced front and rear walls adapted to project above the body of the card to which it is attached, said front and rear walls being provided respectively with a keeper opening and an access opening, a resilient guard of angular cross-section having flanges at the sides thereof adapted for interfitting engage ment with opposite sides of said keeper opening and held therein against longitudinal movement by the ends of said keeper opening, an indicia bearing member of angular cross-section within the angular guard and having the rear side thereof exposed for engagement through said rear access opening.

3. An index tab construction for guide cards including a holder comprising a body of sheet material folded upon itself to provide attaching wings and spaced front and rear walls above the upper edge of the card body, said front and rear walls respectively having a keeper opening and an access opening, said keeper opening being closed at the ends and having inwardly projecting tongues providing holding recesses at the corners of the keeper opening, a resilient guard of angular cross-section having flanges at the long sides thereof for interfitting with opposite sides of the keeper opening and the ends of said guard engaging with said holding recesses at the corners of the opening, and an indicia bearing member of angular cross-section behind the guard and having its rear face exposed for engagement through said access opening.

4. An index tab construction for guide cards including a holder formed with spaced walls having a front keeper opening including horizontal and vertical sides, and a rear access opening, a resilient guard of angular cross-section having flanges for engaging behind the edges of the horizontal sides of the front keeper opening, whereby the flanges of the guard lie substantially in the plane of the card to which the holder is attached, and the ends of said guard being in abutting relation to the vertical edges of the keeper opening, and an indicia bearing member of angular cross-section behind the angular guard, the corners of said indicia bearing member being truncated to permit the said member to freely slide over the vertical edges of the access opening when inserted behind the guard.

CLARENCE W. STRAUBEL. 

